COLUMBUS (WCMH) — A man plowed his car into a group of pedestrians at Ohio State University and began stabbing people with a butcher knife Monday before he was shot to death by a police officer. Police said they are investigating whether it was a terrorist attack.

11 people were hurt, one critically.

The attacker was identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a Somali-born legal permanent resident of the U.S., according to a U.S. official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The FBI and other agencies joined the investigation.

Ohio State Police Chief Craig Stone said that the assailant deliberately drove over a curb outside a classroom building, got out of the vehicle and began to cut people in a crowd with a butcher knife. A police officer who was nearby because of a gas leak arrived on the scene and shot the driver in less than a minute.

“A police officer was on the scene within a minute and killed the assailant. “He engaged the suspect and eliminated the threat,” Stone said.

Officials said the attack was clearly deliberate and may have been planned in advance.

“This was done on purpose,” Stone said.

PHOTOS: Stabbing attack on OSU campus

Students shared pictures on social media of them in classrooms with chairs block doors.

At least two people were being treated for stab wounds, four were injured by the car and two others were being treated for cuts, university officials said.

Campus remains open during the continued investigation, although classes have been canceled for the remainder of the day.

The details emerged after a morning of confusion and conflicting reports that began with the university issuing a series of tweets at about 9:56am warning students that there was an “active shooter” on campus near the engineering building and that they should “run, hide, fight.” The warning was apparently prompted by what turned out to be police gunfire.

The shelter-in-place warning was lifted just after 11:30am and the campus declared secure after police concluded there was no second attacker, as rumored.

The Ohio State University issued the following statement just after 12:20pm:

The university will continue to share information through Buckeye Alert and emergency.osu.edu. Our top priority remains the safety and security of our campus community. Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured and their families.

All buildings except for Student Academic Services were reopened to the public by 3pm so students and staff could retrieve personal items. 19th avenue remains closed, and those needing to access buildings are told to use 18th or Woodruff.

Rachel LeMaster, who works in the engineering college, said a fire alarm sounded on campus.

“There were several moments of chaos,” she said. “We barricaded ourselves like we’re supposed to since it was right outside our door and just hunkered down.”

LeMaster said she and others were eventually led outside the building and she saw a body on the ground.

Other students barricaded themselves in classrooms.

“I’m safe in a barricaded room,” Harrison Roth tweeted. “If you’re on campus, get in a room and stay safe.”

Watching the news unfold at Ohio State University. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the students and administration.

Excellent job by the Ohio State University Emergency Management Team (OSU_EMFP) in immediately notifying students & faculty via social media with the message: “Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.”

THANK YOU to all FIRST RESPONDERS who reacted immediately and eliminated the threat on campus.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther also released the following statement:

As the situation at the Ohio State University unfolds, we lift up the victims and the first responders in our thoughts and prayers. We ask for students and university employees to continue to follow instructions of Ohio State authorities.

Ohio Governor John Kasich weighed in on Twitter saying, “Ohio’s thoughts and prayers go out to the Ohio State community. Be safe, listen to first responders.” He later released a longer statement reading:

My thoughts are with the victims of this attack right now and I pray for their safety and recovery. I am grateful for the professional, coordinated response from first responders whose efforts helped effectively contain this incident before further harm could be done. I have been staying in contact with Ohio first responders since the incident began and have spoken with Ohio State’s President Dr. Michael Drake to pledge whatever additional help the university needs.”

Others to issue statements included Cleveland Cavaliers player Lebron James, who was on campus this past Saturday, and the University of Michigan Athletics department.

When Ohio State issued the warning message Monday, it said there was an active shooter. It emerged later that the assailant had plowed his car into a group of pedestrians and began stabbing people, then was shot and killed by an officer.

Randy Burba, the chief of public safety at Chapman University in California, said he endorses the “run, hide, fight” message in any situation involving an armed assailant, whether it’s a gun, knife or another weapon.

“That basically is an emergency alert to let the campus know there is potential danger and if you can run, run, and if you can hide, hide,” said Burba, who is also president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.

Monica Moll, Ohio State’s director of public safety, said at a news conference that officials there included “run, hide, fight” in the alert message to remind people of their training on how to deal with an attack.

Multiple vigils planned for OSU victims

Several campus area faith communities are planning services tonight to pray for the victims of the attack on Ohio State.

A prayer vigil is planned at Jacob’s Porch located at 45 East 13th Avenue at 4pm.

St. Thomas More Newman Center is inviting the community to light a candle for the OSU community during a 5:30pm mass. The address is 64 W. Lane Avenue.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and University Center will hold a prayer vigil at 7pm. The church is located at 30 W. Woodruff Ave.

Ohio State University’s main campus in Columbus is one of the largest in the United States. The university has more than 65,000 students enrolled across the state. Watts Hall is the Material Science and Engineering building for campus.